The subject invention relates to a lettering scale for regulating the height and width of letters, as well as the spacing therebetween. More particularly, a lettering scale is provided which is used in combination with a straight edge guide, which simplifies and reduces the time necessary to draw and space letters. In use, guide points are drawn which correspond to the end points of the strokes of the letters, with the letters being completed by connecting these guide points.
The subject invention consists of a planer, transparent member having first and second straight edges which are disposed in perpendicular relationship. A plurality of spaced, parallel visible guidelines are provided on the member and are disposed in parallel relationship to the first straight edge. Each of the parallel guidelines is spaced a predetermined fixed distance from the first straight edge. In operation, after drawing horizontal guidelines, a first guide point is drawn adjacent the first straight edge. The planar member is then shifted in a direction perpendicular to the first straight edge by slidably moving the second straight edge along a straight edge guide, until one of the visible guidelines is in register with the first guide point. A second guide point may then be drawn adjacent the first straight edge. By repeating these steps, a series of accurately positioned guide points may be drawn which, when connected, produce letters having their widths regulated.
Precise, hand drawn lettering is required in many applications such as mechanical drafting, or design work Various texts are available which teach proper lettering formats, that are both technically correct and visually pleasing. One example of these texts is "Technical Drawing", by F. E. Giesseck, 6th Edition, which is incorporated herein by reference.
As described in the above noted text, proper lettering requires that each letter be of a specific height and width and that the spacing therebetween be regulated. The drawing of letters is facilitated by initially drawing horizontal and vertical guidelines. More specifically, horizontal guidelines can be used to control the height of the letters, while vertical guidelines can be used to facilitate the control of their width and spacing, as well as to keep the letters uniformly vertical. Using a simple example, when drawing standard capital letters, three horizontal guidelines are drawn including a base and top line, as well as a center line, with the spacing between each guideline being equal. The actual linear spacing between the guidelines may be varied according to the desired height of the letters, however the principles of proportions remain constant and hence, the arrangement of the guidelines will remain constant.
To aid in regulating the width and spacing of the letters, a plurality of vertical guidelines are drawn on the paper, intersecting with the horizontal guidelines. The vertical guidelines may be spaced apart a distance roughly corresponding to the spacing between the letters. The amount of spacing between the vertical guidelines is dependent upon the height of the letters, as well as the size of the particular letter which is being drawn. More specifically, and as discussed in the "Technical Drawing" text, each capital letter can be thought of as having a height of six units or the distance between the base and the top line. The width of most letters is generally five or six units. For example, the vertical strokes of the letter N are spaced five units apart. For another example, the inclined arms of the letter Y extend six units apart, while the center vertical stroke lies three units from the start of the first arm of the Y. Thus, to regulate the spacing between letters, vertical guidelines were drawn which aid in estimating the desired location of the letter. The vertical guidelines can also be used to estimate the width of the letters. The spacing between each word may also be controlled by this method. When inclined letters are desired, horizontal and inclined guidelines are generally used.
In the prior art, many instruments have been devised to aid in the drawing of these guidelines. One of the earliest of such prior art devices is exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 1,721,793 to Rowe which provides for a lettering triangle having a plurality of holes provided therein in a spaced array. The holes in the Rowe device were provided to facilitate the drawing of parallel horizontal guidelines for regulating the height of letters. More specifically, after placing a pencil point in one of the holes provided in the Rowe device, the lettering triangle could be slid or shifted along a straight edge with the pencil point inscribing a line parallel to the straight edge. Additional parallel horizontal guidelines can be drawn by placing a pencil point in the other holes provided in the device and sliding the triangle along a fixed straight edge until an adequate number of horizontal guidelines have been provided. The vertical guidelines are drawn using one of the straight edges of the device as a guide and estimating their placement. As can be appreciated, inaccurate spacing between the vertical guidelines can easily result when the placement of the lines is estimated. Further, the drawing of both horizontal and vertical guidelines is a time consuming process.
Another example of a lettering guide in the prior art can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,560,736 to Olson. Similar to the device disclosed in Rowe, Olson provides for a plurality of rows of spaced apertures useful in drawing horizontal guidelines. The patent to Olson further discloses an improvement over the device shown in Rowe in that the apertures are formed in a circular member which can be rotated relative to the straight edge of the device. By this arrangement, the vertical spacing between the holes may be varied to provide horzontal guidelines to regulate the height of letters of various sizes. As with the Rowe device, to regulate the width and spacing between letters, vertical (or inclined) guidelines must be drawn, using a straight edge of the device. The spacing between these vertical guidelines is again estimated by the user, which often results in inaccurately spaced letters.
Accordingly, it is an object of the subject invention to provide a lettering scale for regulating the width and spacing between the letters, as well as aiding in maintaining uniformly vertical or inclined letters which eliminates the necessity for drawing vertical or inclined guidelines along with horizontal guidelines.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide a lettering scale which when used in combination with a straight edge guide, can facilitate the drawing of horizontal guidelines and in addition, allows the drawing of accurately spaced guide points corresponding to the end points of the strokes of a letter.
It is a further object of the subject invention to provide a preferred embodiment of a lettering scale which includes a set of apertures to facilitate the drawing of horizontal guidelines and reduces the time required to regulate the width of letters by eliminating the necessity of drawing vertical guidelines.
It is still a further object of the subject invention to provide another preferred embodiment of the lettering scale that includes spaced guide markers which further reduce the time necessary to draw letters by eliminating the necessity of drawing horizontal guidelines.